370 Testing Fredericton-based FinTech Product

Brendan Wood, left, and Brendan Lee Young at work on their product for passive investors. Image/via Entrevestor

At this very moment, some $16 million in Canadian retirement accounts are being managed with the aid of a new investment tool managed by a young Fredericton company.

The company is Passiv. It’s the brainchild of Brendan Lee Young and Brendan Wood, two passive investors who wanted a better, more cost-effective tool to make sure their investment accounts were always properly balanced.

They built the tool and worked with regulators to make sure it violated no securities laws. Now there are more than 370 Canadians, who together have about $16 million in funds, testing it. The two Brendans are now planning a full commercial launch in late February or early March.

“Our product, Passiv, allows a do-it-yourself investor to turn their brokerage account into a personalized robo-adviser,” said Young in an interview on Monday. “We both manage our own retirement savings accounts because we don’t want to pay fees. But even if you are a passive investor, it still takes some time. We were spending more time than we wanted to.”